Colombian Conquest Day 5 - Soata to Guican plus glacier

A packed night and morning:

- It was a night of music; from the bar downstairs, that didn't stop until after 3am. Nobody slept that well.

- me talking in my sleep saying: "you want me to buy four chickens?"

- Mark's disappearance when I woke up. He'd gone for a 10k run and had left at 6am! With 300m+ of elevation in 70mins, I'm very impressed.

- I also had the runs, but not the athletic kind. Steve sorted me with two Imodium tablets.

Breakfast (at 7:30 for a 9am departure) was off-site and on the way there, we saw the skaters were already in training, racing around the square. 

Breakfast at Vlacem Gourmet was excellent. Huevos de la Casa was a combination of fried eggs on top of avocado and crispy corn bread with the unique umami addition of crab sticks with a subtle flavour I have yet to identify...

Gerard's bike has a slow puncture, so Edy changes the tube. The videographers among us discuss GoPro attachments at length to get the right combination of fittings. We finally left at 10am...

We fill up with petrol again, now lining up on formation to make the process slightly quicker. Opening my tank I can still see petrol sloshing about.

The roads are sweeping once out of town. I'm riding Graham's bike again today to see how it performs on aspalt: not bad as it happens. Occasionally the road gives way to unpaved or broken up sections, but the little 300cc air cooled Honda takes it all in its stride. We climb then descend, then climb again; we're on a Colombian rollercoaster!

We pass through various towns, all with the same variation of town square centred around a church. At one, San Mateo, we stop for a break. 

The coffee comes with sugar already added, so I pass. There don't seem to be any toilets around and when asked the coffee lady seems to scowl as if to say not my problem. An abandoned plot of land has some well placed bushes that those desperate enough use.  There's a sculpture in the square dedicated to education, which looks on disapprovingly.

We see more horses on the roads in these parts. Either being led by their handlers or at the side of the road eating. There are also more cows in the fields and goats too. It must be the cooler climate at higher altitude that better suits these animals here.

Waving has not been a huge part of our trip so far, but now I've started to do it more and the reactions are positive. Mainly children, road workers, young men and ladies. In fact no one is safe from a random wave. 

We arrive in Guican, our destination for today. But we're not stopping here just yet except to take lunch. I take a snooze on the pavement outside as for some reason I'm feeling very tired today.

We are meant to be riding up to the glacier. Rain threatens and then starts, heavy enough to put on our rain gear. We discuss whether it's worth riding there as the rain cloud will obscure the view of the glacier. I'm keen to go even if it's just for the ride and I'm pleased we do go. 

The ride up is on a rocky and muddy road. We start from 2900m and reach almost 3900m. The scenery and buildings are very alpine like, but not modern. 

The heavy rain holds off as we climb, but the yappy dogs don't, they bark at each bike as we pass then transfer their interest to the next bike. It must have been the highlight of their little days.

We're well into cloud level, but the visibility remains good for us. At the top we stop and can see snow through the clouds. The clouds shift and through a gap we can see the glacier! The ride was worth it even without the glacier, but with it, makes it better still, even if it's just a glimpse.

We ride back down, I partly freewheel without the engine for many km, but eventually have to start it when the track starts to go back up. We get some good pictures on the way back.

Back in Guican and we split up. Some of us are staying at a hotel up the hill from the centre and others more centrally.  Our hotel has a lovely garden and restaurant, where we have dinner.

Our room has two bunks and a small double bed. Mark showers and pretty soon he's out like a light. He skips dinner in the hotel. 

About 120km today. Doesn't seem much, but enough. 

Long day tomorrow: six hours of riding according to Google, that means probably around eight hours door to door.